QUOTE (hankski @ Feb 7 2009, 06:08 AM)

Set the shifter to 4th before removing the wheel.
Also, I find that it is pretty easy to remove the shifter cable at the hub by holding the cable housing steady by hand and using a pair of vice crips or pliers to pull on the cable and 10mm retaining nut taking it out of the cassette joint pulley slot.
Bless Sheldon Brown. His legacy has saved me a lot of grief over the past six months since I bought my Vitesse.
It's easiest to
remove the
wheel if the shift cable is removed first. This, in turn, is easier if the cable is under the least amount of tension: in gear "1". See
THIS PAGE. No pliers or wrenches are necessary.
Ditto your comment on Sheldon Brown. He is sorely missed, but his web site continues to be a great resource.
Steve
EDIT: @ DarkStar: What model bike do you have? AFAIK, all the ones with Nexus hubs have chains with master links that open with simple tools. I could be wrong. My Helios XL and Mu XL are both so equipped and I find it much easier to split the chain and lay the ends aside. On my bikes, I'm not even sure it's always going to be possible to move the
wheel far enough forward to get the chain off. To some extent, this depends on how long the chain is to begin with, and how much chain wear has occurred, both of which affect the position of the axle in the frame.